Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “decaying” come from?

Decaying comes from Old English -ing added to decay, which derives from Latin decido, itself from Latin cado meaning "to fall" combined with the prefix de.

decaying (English): present participle of decay; The process of...

Definitions

  1. present participle of decay; The process of...

Ancestry of “decaying”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “decaying”

  • undecaying
  • nondecaying
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →